SaaS Spending among India SMBs is Set to Grow 40%+ In 2011

KOLKATA, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Small and medium business (SMB) spending in India on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), a key component of cloud computing, is anticipated to rise by a sizable 43% in 2011. More than 10% of Internet-owning India SMBs have shown interest in adopting cloud computing in the next year. This is one of the key findings from a recently completed AMI study, “2010-2011 India SMB State of the Cloud Market Overview,” conducted across major as well as Tier II cities. Medium businesses (organizations with 100-999 full-time employees) have displayed significantly higher interest than their smaller counterparts.

“almost half have a mobile workforce and over one fifth provide telecommuting options to their employees. The need for anytime, anywhere data access is a key driver of cloud computing in India.”

“Among India Internet SMBs,” notes Kalyan Banga, Senior Research Analyst at AMI-India, “almost half have a mobile workforce and over one fifth provide telecommuting options to their employees. The need for anytime, anywhere data access is a key driver of cloud computing in India.”

Other enablers of cloud adoption have also reached significant usage levels within India Internet SMBs. “Mobility, telecommuting, notebooks, smart phones—all are playing an important role in cloud adoption. Hence, it is becoming increasingly evident that the entire ecosystem and the players within it are steadily gearing up for cloud adoption,” says Mr. Banga.

“There are other factors at play as well,” he continues, “that are triggering interest in cloud computing in India. In the aftermath of the economic downturn, cost-conscious India SMBs are tightening their purse strings. Cloud computing is appealing as it requires less of a financial burden through zero CAPEX and minimal OPEX.”

The study also notes that infrastructure is gradually falling into place to support greater cloud growth within India SMBs. The availability of affordable and quality broadband services (thanks to the efforts of key ISPs) is a major driver not only for cloud computing but all Internet-based technology adoption. The development of virtualization is another key booster. Moreover, implementation of cloud-based solutions reduces the organization's need and dependability on skilled IT personnel.

“The development of an appropriate ecosystem is another crucial factor that is boosting Cloud Computing deployment,” says Mr. Banga. This is true since major ecosystem players such as Telco/ISPs, ISVs, SIs, aggregators, web developers, content providers, etc., have been developing their capabilities and technical infrastructure to be able to provide better and robust cloud computing services to end-users. Other than creating awareness, the partner community has a vital role in acting as the connecting link between cloud vendors and end-users. The success of cloud computing will depend on the last mile connectivity. Since India SMBs are geographically dispersed, heterogeneous in nature and challenging to tap, the role of the Channel Partner is particularly vital in the India SMB space.

“Choosing the right cloud partner is a critical component for ensuring a successful and long-term partnership,” says Mr. Banga. “It is necessary to ensure that the cloud provider is ready to support the India SMB and share in both its challenges and achievements.”

Related Studies

AMI’s 2010-2011 Worldwide SMB Cloud Service studies examine the SMB Cloud opportunity in 30+ countries, including SMB preference for Cloud-based application bundle, price sensitivity and purchase channel preferences. These studies also provide comprehensive coverage of SMB adoption of Cloud-based applications, managed services, and supporting infrastructure, including platforms and devices. These studies will provide a roadmap for successful Cloud go-to-market strategies and tactics.

The reports provide an overview of the growing impact of cloud services on the SMB market from the following perspectives:

Cloud mindset and economic influence
Cloud enabling platforms, infrastructure and devicesp
SaaS, unified communications (UC) and remotely managed IT services (RMITS)
Current and planned adoption and deployment of cloud solutions
Cloud usage behavior, decision making and purchase channels

For more information about these studies or AMI’s partner targeting solutions, please call 212 944 5100, e-mail ask_ami@amipartners.com or visit our web site at www.ami-partners.com.

About Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.

AMI-Partners specializes in IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services strategy, venture capital, and actionable market intelligence — focusing on global small and medium business (SMB) enterprises. The AMI-Partners mission is to empower clients for success with the highest-quality data, business planning and go-to-market solutions. AMI was founded in 1996. Since its inception, the firm has built a world-class management team, each with ten to fifteen years’ experience in IT, telecom, online communications or multimedia.

AMI-Partners has helped shape the go-to-market SMB strategies of more than 150 leading IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services companies. The firm is well known for its IT and Internet adoption-based segmentation of the SMB markets; its annual retainership services based on global SMB tracking surveys in more than 30 countries; and its proprietary database of SMBs and SMB channel partners in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The firm invests significantly in collecting survey-based information from several thousand SMBs annually, and is considered the premier source for global SMB trends and analysis.